Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Biloxi, Mississippi, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to BIX:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- BIX Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about BIX
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to BIX
- List of Nearest Airports to BIX
- Map of Furthest Airports from BIX
- List of Furthest Airports from BIX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Keesler Air Force Base (BIX), Biloxi, Mississippi, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,485 miles (or 7,219 kilometers).
A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between RAF Fairford and Keesler Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.
Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between RAF Fairford and Keesler Air Force Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FFD / EGVA |
Airport Name: | RAF Fairford |
Location: | Fairford, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°40'55"N by 1°47'24"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from FFD |
More Information: | FFD Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BIX / KBIX |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Biloxi, Mississippi, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 30°24'41"N by 88°55'24"W |
View all routes: | Routes from BIX |
More Information: | BIX Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
- On 15 September 2009, it was announced that the USAF will withdraw all their uniformed staff from the station by September 2010, after which it will be run on a "care and maintenance" basis.
- On 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury, to provide support to its GSUs in the United Kingdom.
- Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
- In the early years of the Cold War the British and American governments reached an agreement under which elements of the USAF Strategic Air Command would be based in the UK.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- The furthest airport from RAF Fairford (FFD) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,898 miles (19,148 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
Facts about Keesler Air Force Base (BIX):
- Massive restructuring of the Air Force in the early 1990s also meant several changes for Keesler associate units.
- In addition to being known as "Keesler Air Force Base", another name for BIX is "Keesler AFB".
- Keesler's student load dropped to an all-time low after the Vietnam War ended.
- The closest airport to Keesler Air Force Base (BIX) is Gulfport–Biloxi International Airport (GPT), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) W of BIX.
- The base is home of Headquarters, Second Air Force and the 81st Training Wing of the Air Education and Training Command.
- The furthest airport from Keesler Air Force Base (BIX) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,125 miles (17,904 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
- The Air Force Reserve Command's 403d Wing is a tenant wing also located at Keesler and is an Air Mobility Command -gained composite unit which provides theater airlift support through the 815th Airlift Squadron and its C-130 Hercules aircraft, as well as serving as the parent unit to the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, a WC-130 unit known as the "Hurricane Hunters."
- By September 1944, the number of recruits had dropped, but the workload remained constant, as Keesler personnel began processing veteran ground troops and combat crews who had returned from duty overseas for additional training and follow on assignments.
- During the early 1960s, Keesler lost many of its airborne training courses but Keesler still remained the largest training base throughout the 1970s.
- Other organizations assigned to Keesler AFB include the 45th Airlift Squadron, a geographically separated unit of the 314th Airlift Wing at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas.